DIY Splatter Spray T-Shirt Using Stencils

With only a few simple supplies, you can have a one of a kind t-shirt that looks great, but doesn't cost a fortune. Since the stencil is plastic, it is reusable, so your design can be painted onto multiple items. Make one large stencil for a bold statement or several smaller ones for more variation possibilities. You can use light paint on a dark t-shirt as shown in the photo, or dark paint on a light shirt. This will determine how you make or lay out your stencil.

Materials
12"X12"Plastic Craft Sheets
Scissors or Utility Knife
Spray Bottle with "Mist" Option
Acrylic Fabric Paint
Glue Stick
Plain T-Shirts
Magic Marker
Newspaper for covering the work area

Directions:

Choose your design. Something simple with clearly defined light and dark areas, such as a line drawing, will work best. Either draw it directly on the plastic or print it out and then just trace it onto the sheet. If you are using a dark shirt, the light areas of your drawing are what you will cut out to make the open areas of your stencil and vice versa. If you want to use both light and dark shirts, you can arrange the cut out pieces to simulate the actual stencil on the other color shirt.

Use the glue stick to make the back of the stencil slightly tacky, so that it will stay in place while you are spraying. Next, mix some of the paint with just enough water so that it sprays from the bottle easily but still covers the fabric. You will need more paint and less water for dark fabrics, and vice versa. Position the stencil on the shirt until you have it where you want it. To create interesting color variations, lay the outside of the stencil in place as well for the first spraying. Holding the bottle upright, begin spraying a light mist over the whole front of the shirt, concentrating on the openings of the stencils. Remove the outer part of the stencil if you placed it, and then lightly spray everything again. Allow the shirt to dry. You may repeat the design on the back of the shirt, reversing the stencil, if you like, or even place a second design on the front of the shirt. If you are using several small stencils, rather than a large one, you may wish to cover the areas of the shirt that you are not spraying.